Abstract:
A cross sectional study was conducted from November 2019 to April 2020 in three selected
areas of East Gojjam zone North Western Ethiopia, with the objective of estimating the
prevalence of poultry coccidiosis,identifying the major Eimeria species of coccidiosis, and
assessing the major risk factors associated with coccidiosis. Simple random sampling
technique were conducted to collect fecal samples from chickens. Qualitative and quantitative
techniques were employed to examine feccal samples collected from 384 randomly selected
chickens. The data were analysed using SPSS version 23. Univaraite and multivariate logistic
regression was used to calculate the odds ratio for associated risk factors. ANOVA was used
to analyze mean oocyst count. Out of 384 examined chickens, 26.5 % (102/384) of them
harbored different Eimeria species. Coccidial infection was significantly higher in poorly
managed than well managed (OR, 12.44, P=0.001), young chickens than adult and older
chickens (OR, 0.25, P=0.001) and between chickens kept under semi-intensive than backyard
(OR, 0.37, P=0.001). The Mean oocyst count of Eimeria was significantly different among the
age categories and management system of poultry production (F=6.526, P=0.002), with (F=
5.369, P= 0.005), respectively. On Bonferroni multiple comparison test the mean oocyst
count was significantly greater in poultry 6-12 weeks of age (P= 0.004) and < 6 weeks of age
(P= 0.025). Six species of Eimeria, namely E.tenella, E.necatrix, E.acervulina, E.mitis,
E.maxima, and E.burneti were identified with the prevalence of 46.07%, 24.5%, 8.82%,
5.88%, 4.90% , and 2.94%, respectively. E.tenella was the predominant species and was also
found as a mixed infection with E.nactrix and E.maxima. Coccidiosis was the most frequent
(55%) disease in their poultry farm. In conclusion, the present study showed that high
prevalence coccidiosis is in the study area and poultry owners should properly handle their
chickens, management of litter.
Keywords: Coccidiosis, East gojjam zone, Eimeria species, Epidemiology, Ethiopia, Poultry,
Riskfactors